Since inductors are in series with the signal and when saturate they exhibit hysteresis what kind of pleasant sound would you expect? Like a chain saw? 😀
A good taste!
A lot of people like distorted guitars. Amplifier output transformers play some role in getting a good sound. At lesser distortion levels, some Neve audio equipment designs benefit from transformer distortion. Same for inductor distortion in Pultec EQs. If you listen to modern recorded music and like the sound of it, then part of that is liking a little bit of transformer and/or inductor distortion.
Distortions in guitar amps turn boring sound of a metal string near electromagnetic pickup into something that can be used to express emotions. It is something absolutely different from reproduction of recorded tunes.
Transformer and inductor distortions in a vintage gear also differ from saturated ferrite cores in inductors in series, because in "vintage sound" saturated inductors were in parallel, cutting peaks of signals, decreasing crest-factor. As the result, when listening on the same volume there are less of nasty distortions caused by clipping of hi-fi power amps. Vacuum tube microphones with transformers do the same trick.
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I would agree it is different, but only in terms of degree of distortion. A little, and I mean very little, but barely audible, distortion in playback equipment can sound good. Not accurate, but good. It can, in some cases, give the impression of increased detail, and a fuller, richer sound. In particular, 2nd harmonic distortion is pretty hard to hear, in part because many musical instruments produce sound with 2nd harmonic in it to begin with. Adding a little more doesn't sound all that different. Adding a little, very little, 3rd harmonic can increase the perception that detail is improved. It is higher order harmonics that tend to sound bad, when applied to a whole mix that is.
No, it is different in terms of the purpose, like a sword and a scalpel. Creating new sounds and reproducing sound fields are totally different tasks.
People repeat the same nonsense again and again about added harmonics that increase pleasure, until they have a possibility to dial in distortions practically and hear the difference. Why such urban legend are so live? Because amps with higher distortions on high power often have less of audible distortions, so it is an usual mistake to attribute better sound to wrong, but easily measurable, causes.
People repeat the same nonsense again and again about added harmonics that increase pleasure, until they have a possibility to dial in distortions practically and hear the difference. Why such urban legend are so live? Because amps with higher distortions on high power often have less of audible distortions, so it is an usual mistake to attribute better sound to wrong, but easily measurable, causes.
Wow such poetic nonsense, just curious is this one of those forums where EE's asking too often about proof or, heaven forbid, DBT's are banned. Will anyone try it noooo, real simple take Walt Jung's plain vanilla op-amp RIAA and his passive RIAA and null them like a bridge. Smearing should show up, it won't. A simple hands on experiment that the folks that spew this crap out could have tried once in the last few decades, problem is it would prove they are wrong. Oh I forgot the smearing is simply perceived it is not a property of the two signals and hence not measurable.
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These things: hedd have been used in mastering a lot of records. Dial in your desired distortion.
Also, I have dialed in distortion on one of those things myself and listened to the difference. For some source material a little distortion sometimes sounds better. You can say its only a legend all you want, but that doesn't make it so. I guess we will just have to disagree on this one.
There's nothing to disagree about, everything that the artists do to produce a work is part of the work. If you like to play your CD's through a wah-wah pedal I don't mind. Preferring one distortion over another is a totally personal thing, declaring the distortion you prefer is objectively "better" for everyone is wrong.
I view that as a musical instrument, not a reproduction tool in that it should be used in the creation, not in the playback. Imagine the horror of the average audiophool if someone came up with a consumer version of that.*
*Yes I know Nelson almost did exactly that with the adjustable distortion pot on one of his firstwatt amps where you can dial in 2H or 3H characteristics to taste.
*Yes I know Nelson almost did exactly that with the adjustable distortion pot on one of his firstwatt amps where you can dial in 2H or 3H characteristics to taste.
To add a bit more about adding distortion, IMHO one should start with a very clean, accurate system and only add small distortion at one point, say in the phono preamp. Adding distortion on top of distortion in multiple stages usually sounds bad. Why? For example, if you add some 2nd harmonic to the sound of instruments that already produce some natural 2nd harmonic, then among other things you produce the 2nd harmonic of the instrument's natural 2nd harmonic, and so you have a 4th harmonic. Now we are starting to produce some higher order harmonics. Doing that over and over again in successive stages creates more and more high order harmonics and usually sounds pretty bad.
That's not what I was trying to do. I was trying to explain why people like phono preamps with inductors, and why they explain their preference they way they do.
As far as me declaring the distortion I like sounds better, the only time I do that is when I make music, or mix, or master music. If you listen to it after that, you are stuck with my choice. Hopefully you would find it good listening.
What about phase?
Adding 2h could sum (or multiplicative) or it could cancel with cascading stages no?
How about speakers? Can't a little 2H actually cancel speaker distortion? So in some very specific instances adding distortion can actually reduce distortion.
Adding 2h could sum (or multiplicative) or it could cancel with cascading stages no?
How about speakers? Can't a little 2H actually cancel speaker distortion? So in some very specific instances adding distortion can actually reduce distortion.
I can't help but remember Hendrix (I think it was in Hawaii) walking up to a wall of Marshals and putting his guitar right in font of them and turning the knobs to 11, it never sounded bad.
You can get away with stuff on a single electric guitar and have it sound good that you can't get away with on a whole song with vocals, percussion, etc. Even with guitars, single notes and power chords usually sound best if using heavy distortion. Full 6-note jazz chords usually come out too mangled.
I'm sure your work is good listening, that was never in question and there was never a need to defend anything used in doing it. The only issue here is preserving what was produced faithfully, I am skeptical that further effects are necessary.
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